How To Stand Out as the Best Tenant

By: Sebastian Marquez | Tolobi

Toronto is one of the toughest and most competitive rental markets in the country. Some renters will even lie about their relationships and photoshop their credit scores just to prevent their application from being tossed into the trash.

But just as you should never lie on a job application, you should never lie when applying to rent someone’s property. Instead, there are much more ethically sound and proven ways in standing out as an ideal tenant.

Assemble the ingredients

Paperwork — we have to talk about it. Assembling the proper documents may seem like a dull task, but it’s what most landlords and rental agents require. When we asked Sarah Miskelly, founder of Muse Realty, what was an important factor for improving the prospects of someone signing a lease, she said,

In a competitive market with many applicants, a landlord should not have to chase you for standard supporting documentation. If you do not have a component of the application (i.e. a Canadian credit report), be prepared to provide proof of income, funds in bank or a larger deposit.

A prepared application package — printed out and ready to be taken with you to any showing — should include your driver’s license, passport, or any other official ID, employment letters, and pay stubs for the last 3 months.

Compiling a series of documents may seem hard, we know, but just relax and get organized! Photo courtesy of Alice Pasqual

You should also provide references from past landlords, employers, and friends. Building a strong rapport with your current landlord will especially help you in the long run. Miskelly stresses the importance of ensuring your references are available to be contacted. If not, your prospects may tank simply because it’s more convenient to move on to checking the next applicant’s references rather than waiting on you.

Credit reports are essential. A full credit report from Equifax or Transunion will give a more thorough profile. This increased transparency will make you seem like a safer bet than someone with a simple credit score. When asked why landlords put so much emphasis on credit history, Sarah Gatpandan, sales representative at Condos.ca, said, “Landlords base the financial responsibility of an applicant by carefully looking at all their credit accounts to insure the applicant will not make late payments.” If you were in their shoes, wouldn’t you also want to ensure you found someone who could pay?

Know what you want

Before you start talking to landlords, before you even start searching for listings, it’s important to know what you want, what you need, and what you can live without. Is this the right neighbourhood for you? Are you alright with a basement suite? Can you share the property with the landlord or other tenants?

Have a set budget, keeping in mind by how much can you outbid others. Consider distances. What commute times are you willing to stomach for work or to see friends and family? How far are you willing to go to pick up groceries or do your weekly shopping? How much walking in the snow or summer heat can you take to get to the GO or TTC stop? What building amenities and nearby recreational spaces do you need?

Landlords or rental agents don’t do showings for fun. In this hot rental market, they expect you to show up not just interested, but already wanting the place, as in ready to put down an offer if all things go well. So when you see a listing you like, make sure you’ve already checked all your boxes before you even make contact with the landlord or listing agent.

Social media hygiene clean

You cringe at the thought of your parents creeping your Instagram. You wouldn’t snapchat your employer. So why shouldn’t you be mindful of the future landlord doing a thorough inspection of your social media presence?

Either make your social media accounts private or trim your profiles down to show the mature you that has outgrown whatever embarrassing views or opinions you shared in the past. What does your social media presence say about you? Better yet, in this day and age of looking up people before meeting them, how do your profiles speak for you before you’ve even met someone in person?

Your future landlord wants someone who has a proactive attitude in life, but more importantly they want someone who carries no social red flags. In short, make sure you don’t appear sketchy on the Internet. Anything that might point to some uncertainty about you will make them unconfident about you before they even meet you.

What seemed cool in your first year of university, may not be today. Photo courtesy of Erik Lucatero.

Be on the same wavelength

Communication is key. You want to be clear, responsive, and you want to let your smarts ring through your messages with a prospective landlord.

Do not start your query with, “Hey bro, I like your place.” Start the conversation with a clear point. You know what you want, so say it. At the same time, “Can I see the property?” will also not cut it. You have to also know what the landlord expects. Tell them a little about yourself — your job, if you have a partner/roommate, if you have pets — and tell them why you want to live in the neighbourhood and the specific property in question. You could also tell them how long you estimate you’d like to rent the place.

This is not the time for millenial coldness or playing games of hard to get. If someone has bothered to respond to your query, that means they’re getting in touch, which means you get right back to them as soon as possible. By showing you are responsive, you give them a feeling that you’ll be easy to get a hold of as a tenant.

Finally, don’t come off as ignorant of things you shouldn’t be ignorant about. Be astute and do your homework. Know the details of the listing. Nothing makes landlords think they’re wasting their time more than when they get questions that are already answered on the listing. Be strategic about what you ask — do you really need the landlord to tell you about the crime rates in this area?

Extra touches

When you meet in person, be amiable, as if you were going for a job interview. Put your best shoe forward. You don’t want to be late and have the landlord waiting on you. Personal touches help too. Kenneth Yim, Broker of Record at Broadview Avenue Group, notes sometimes it helps to have a personalized cover letter or email to make the application feel more human:

Landlords are people too, and they can empathize with a newlywed couple or a responsible young tenant just moving out of home for the first time for a great job in the city.

“When you meet in person, be amiable, as if you were going for a job interview”. Photo courtesy of Hunters Race.

He adds that your application should be all organized and packaged for easy handover.

You should also be prepared to be flexible. Be ready to order post-dated cheques if the landlord wants to have rent payments done that way. Be prepared to provide first- and last-month’s rent, which are typical in this market. You could be asked to give a few months of prepaid rent, especially if your credit history is unavailable.

Lastly, be ready to put down an offer immediately after the showing. If you went to the showing knowing already what you wanted in the place and everything turned out to be what you thought it to be, then it won’t help to ponder about it. Handover your application and get your offer down. Chances are if you like it, others will too, and many won’t hesitate to make the offer.

Despite the current rental market in Toronto being a frenzy, it is also important to remember that after you put down your offer, you’re saying you’re prepared to live in this place for the next 12 months. While making decisions quickly is important, you shouldn’t feel pressured to settle for less, not if you have a good credit score, a great job, and awesome references.